text:
A gay man from Essex who donated his sperm to enable a lesbian couple to have two children, but who was never named on their birth certificate and had no role in their upbringing, is being forced by the Child Support Agency to pay for their support – 13 years after the first child was born.
Mark Langridge, who has been with his partner for 16 years (and in a civil partnership for the last five), has called on the government to review the law after the CSA suddenly demanded that he start paying £26 a week for two children he technically fathered over a decade ago.
He has had no contact with the family since 2004, but the CSA said that he has to either pay up, or take a DNA test to show that he is not their natural father.
His story will send shivers down the spine of any man who was asked to donate their sperm by a childless woman in the 90s.
Back then it was impossible for women to use official sperm banks unless they had a male partner – something that is no longer the case.
Changes to the law mean that if Langridge made the donation today in similar circumstances he wouldn't be financially liable for the children, and he has called for the law governing this area to be applied retrospectively. It is thought that there are several other men caught up in the same position.
His story starts in 1997 when he and his partner Shaun met a lesbian couple in Bliss nightclub in Southend. They became good friends and it soon became clear that one of the women was keen to have children.
As a result, in 1998, Langridge visited the Essex home of the mum-to-be, glass container in hand, and in a separate room the woman inseminated herself.
He says he only agreed to it after being given repeated assurances that the couple were financially secure and would need no financial input from him at any stage. He was told by the mother that he was not named on the child's birth certificate, and that the mother's story would be that she'd had a fling and that the father had gone back to the US.
A year later she asked him again to donate, as she wanted a sibling for her child and thought it would be nicer to have the same father. He agreed and another girl was born in the spring of 2000. Again, he was told he was not named on the birth certificate.
A few years later his relationship with the mother and her female partner started to deteriorate, to the point where he no longer saw them or their daughters. He received the occasional letter from the girls, to which he replied.
What he did not know was that the lesbian couple split up, leaving one of the mothers with both children, who later sought support from the state.
One reason he felt willing to donate his sperm was that the couple had been promised a large sum of money which would give them a level of financial security. However, when that money came through they had separated.
He understands that the non-biological mother in the pair continues to live near the former family home, and to see the girls at weekends, in the same way, he says, any other divorced or separated parent would – even though they were never civil partners. Yet the CSA is not chasing the other mother for support payments.
He says that over the years the mother threatened she would tell the CSA that he was the father, and in June this year he received a letter demanding he contribute to the children's maintenance.
Because he is self-employed and lives on a low income as a part-time book-keeper and gardener, the £26 a week that has been calculated by the CSA is money, he says, he doesn't have. "Of course, if I'd foreseen this all those years ago I would not have agreed to it. I just wanted to help a woman in need, and thought what harm could it do?" he adds. "I have told the CSA what happened but it has fallen on deaf ears. As far it is concerned, if I'm the biological father I have to pay – irrespective of the circumstances."
Guardian Money made attempts to track down the women but we were unsuccessful and, as a result, have taken the decision not to name or identify them.
A spokesman for the CSA confirmed the situation. "The law covering unlicensed sperm donation has always been very clear. Only anonymous sperm donors, at licensed centres, are exempt from being treated as the legal father of a child born as a result of their donation.
"This has never applied to men who donate sperm as part of a personal arrangement. Unless the child is legally adopted, both biological parents are financially responsible for their child by law, regardless of whether both their names are entered on to the birth certificate."
Natalie Gamble, founder of Natalie Gamble Associates, the UK's foremost experts on fertility law, says the law in this area changed a few years ago.
"Had the donation taken place after April 2009, or through a clinic, the law would have viewed his responsibility very differently. In that case he would not be deemed the father, provided the consenting couple to which he was making the donation were in a civil partnership, or his donation to the couple was through a licensed clinic. The fact that it was made on a private basis before that date means the law is very clear. He is considered the father."
Her company represented the last high-profile case in this area – fireman Andy Bathie. His case, which came to light in 2007, was almost identical to Langridge's. His donation had enabled another lesbian couple to have children.
When they split and the mother claimed benefits, he was chased by the CSA for thousands of pounds. He was forced to take a DNA test which confirmed he was the father.
Unable to afford children of his own with his wife because of the payments, he called on the law to be applied retrospectively – a call echoed this week by Langridge, who says he simply can't afford the tens of thousands of pounds it would cost to mount a legal challenge through the courts.
"The law was changed because it was unfair, but it is still considered OK for men caught in my position to be penalised," he says.
"Our only crime was agreeing to do someone a good turn. It is absurd that I'm being chased for the money while the children's other mother makes no contribution to their upkeep.
"How can that be right in modern Britain in which we supposedly have equality?" he asks.
SOURCE: The Guardian


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Today's energies are bringing up polarities for us to balance and unify. The polarities that we notice are the ones we need to unify within ourselves. They are the ones that need our attention. They are the ones that are ready for unification within. They are the ones that are offering us the greatest shift in consciousness when we work with both sides to unify them.
December Numerology
Welcome December – this is a profound month and we have all been preparing so deeply for this month. December is a 3 month (1+2=3) and as you read these words, feel the power and presence of this 3 energy. The number 3 is the KEY to manifestation, but not the actual form of manifestation – that belongs to the realm of the number 4 energy. Although, as we know, it is a seamless flow and expression from the 3 energy to the 4 energy. It is all one as it flows from one aspect to another aspect. The 3 has always been associated with manifestation because it is the key, without which manifestation cannot occur.
The energies and gifts of the 3 energy are vast. This 3 energy opens us up to our emotional expression – it opens us up to our creative expression – it shows us hidden frustrations or suppressed emotions that need to be expressed or aligned or healed – it opens us up to our optimism – it assists us in having faith in self – it shows us our intuitive nature. These are powerful emotions that assist us in feeling our way into and opening our heart. All of these gifts open our heart and that is why the 3 energy is the key to manifestation.
The expanded energies of the number 3 in 5D assist us to merge fully and deeply within our heart and to KNOW and BE our deepest desires. Without this oneness in the heart, without Being our desires, any manifestation we may bring forth is temporary or not the fullness of our heart's desire. Oneness with what we are calling forth in love within the heart is the key to fully empowered manifestations. The number 3 energy assists us to be very aware of our passions/desires AND, you might say, KNOWS HOW to open us to full access to our heart through our deepest feelings – the 3 assists us in FEELING our way into our desires/choices – it assists us in BECOMING our choice within our heart - in our feelings - in our passion. Our powerful feelings that are triggered by this 3 energy assist us in becoming so one with our desire that nothing else exists. And once we are in our open heart, we automatically have access and oneness with our God I Am and with what is chosen. The 3 energies assist us to become one with our desires through our feeling nature – through our emotions. The 3 energy triggers our creativity; it triggers our emotions; it triggers our frustrations; it triggers our openness; it triggers our intuition; it triggers our optimism.
As we become one with our passions and/or empowered choices, this state of oneness with our God I Am serves as the conduit to channel the full force of our deepest desires in oneness with our God I Am and to allow the full force of God/Creator/Source to flow through us into form. It is our heart-felt FOCUS that leads to Creatorship – the 3 energy brings up, from within us, our true feelings and this is what opens our heart in oneness which leads to manifestation. Our love – our heart-felt feelings open us and align us with the formless power that creates form. This is why the Great Beings of Light are always telling us to "allow all your emotions" so that we may enter into our unlimited heart where everything occurs. And we reach this unlimited power of Creation only when we are able to feel it, call it forth from our heart in complete oneness with our God I Am, with ALL of Life, and with our Source – all at the same time without experiencing any separation between our heart/love, our God I Am, and our Source. We become one with Source and call forth in that powerful all present oneness/love our heart's longing. This inner calling forth is felt in every cell of our being and as we open up every part of our being to that calling forth of our desires, we allow and channel our creation into being.
Creation cannot manifest with the mind - it must be done in in the heart and in feeling and in oneness and once we are in the power of our heart we automatically become one with our God I Am and our Source. December is our month to FEEL our LOVE - to FEEL our TRUTH - to FEEL whatever we are calling forth - to FEEL Heaven on Earth into Being - and to FEEL it so absolutely and completely in every part of our being that it emanates from us and is reflected back to us as our world. Allow the energies of this 3 month to lead the way into your unlimited heart. We use our heart to create healing – we use our heart to call forth our desires – we use our heart to create abundance – we use our heart to manifest our truth, purpose, and destiny - we use our heart to call forth our spiritual gifts – we use our hearts to send forth and to receive unconditionally love. Welcome December!!!
Cosmic Numerology for the year 2017
Welcome Welcome Welcome 2017!!!! We are honored for your energy, your gifts, your Light, your opportunities, your courage, your wisdom, and your inspiration!!! This year offers us with profound and powerful energies to create our new world!!!!!
To name SOME of the gifts that 2017 bring us they are: Light, Illumination, Clarity, Courage, Independence, Empowered Choice, Originality, Will, Determination, Initiative, and Creative Thought. Wow!!! We are all SO READY for these powerful qualities to become enlivened in our lives after the deep and intense clearing and transformation we have all called forth for the past lifetime and even longer!!! Once again, Welcome 2017!!!
To delve more deeply into the energies of 2017, remember that not only are we calling forth these powerful qualities from within (2017 is our reflection of course) but we ARE READY to wield them with clarity, with empowerment, with awareness, with integrity, with LIGHT, AND in coming from our Center which is Unified in LOVE. It takes courage to stand in the face of opposition and to not "take sides – either one polarity or another" but to stand firmly in oneness and hold your truth. It takes a strong WILLINGNESS to want to see the Best in each and every situation, especially when there is pressure to do otherwise. It takes Illumination and Independence and courage to stand firmly in your truth when others pressure you to do what they want. This year we are truly being asked to walk our talk. We have all read the adage "to whom much is given, much is expected" – well, this year much will be required of us because much, much, much has already been given and much more will be given to us. We have the greatest opportunities before us this year to create our "heaven on earth" – maybe not in completion in one year, but certainly we have the opportunities to begin this new life from wherever on our journey we currently reside. And we already know that all beginnings begin within. So the profound Light we are being gifted with this year can be used, to illuminate every part of our consciousness so that we may ferret out any and all thought forms, ideas, and patterns that prevent us from living within ourselves a heaven on earth life. It HAS to begin within – we all know this. Can we awaken each day filled with the gratitude of what we experienced yesterday and the anticipation of this new day full of unlimited potential? Can we allow ourselves to live with joy; to live with excitement; to live with appreciation; to live in partnership with life; to live with a willingness to see and embrace something new; to live engaged WITH life. This year it will be critical to keep an inner eye on our inner attitude and climate to be sure we are living in love – living in Light – living in Connection – living in integrity – honoring our individuality – appreciating all our gifts – appreciating all that life is giving us this very moment – remaining in the now moment – having deep compassion for ourselves and others when we "mess-up" because our "mess-ups" are our greatest teachers and opportunities – allowing our true partnership with life - not through control but through trust and love and a willingness to open to life.
This year is HUGE!!! In order to take full advantage of all it is offering us, it will be helpful to embrace our own huge and unlimited nature in full faith and trust. Especially when our experience is different than we expect or want. When we can let go of our expectations of how things need to be and, without losing our own integrity and our own truth, allow life to unfold as it needs to, and if we can do this in full faith that life loves us and is "on our side" and that the outcome, regardless of what it looks like, IS in our very best interest, then we can and will create our own heaven on earth.
Our heart ALWAYS knows – our Body NEVER lies to us – our mirrors ALWAYS show us something about ourselves. These are the tools that will be so helpful for us to fully trust, engage with, and use to maneuver through this year. Our heart knows what we want and what we don't want in an instant – it will tell us our truth in an instant, so connecting and LISTENING to our heart this year is more important than ever.
Our body NEVER Lies to us. Anytime we are at a crossroads or have a decision or a choice to make, consult your body – feel it deeply – listen to it – it will NEVER guide you astray – never. Check in with it daily this year. You can feel when you are in center – you can feel when you are on your true pathway – you can feel if a choice you have made is not in alignment with your heart – feel your truth and allow it to guide you this year.
Our mirrors ALWAYS tell us something about ourselves. They have to because all of our life is our own reflection. They may not be a "direct" reflection and you may have to work with the symbols of the mirror. For example, the external terror acts playing out externally do not indicate that you are a terrorist, however, you can ask yourself: how are you internally destroying your gifts, or your opportunities, or do you terrorize yourself with debilitating thoughts or feelings or beliefs, etc. Ask yourself numerous questions. Use your mirrors until you get that internal "yes, that is what this mirror is showing me." The more you work with them the more they will reveal insights to you about yourself. If you are persistent with working with your mirrors, you will SEE yourself and discover so much about yourself and in that discovery move into creating your heaven on earth.
Another profound gift of 2017 is Inspiration!!!! This will be a major and daily gift during 2017. I will expand on this gift of inspiration during the blogs for each day and each month because there is so much to expand on here. So, please join me in opening your hearts and all of your being to this incredible and miraculous year 2017!!!
For more information about Marie's work, or to set up a session, please visit her website: www.quietmountains.com Or call (720) 340-4670

subset: commoncrawl


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An evangelical US general played a pivotal role in Iraqi prison reform
The Guardian
May 20, 2004
By Sidney BlumenthalSaving General Boykin seemed like a strange sideshow last October. After it was revealed that the deputy undersecretary of defence for intelligence had been regularly appearing at evangelical revivals preaching that the US was in a holy war as a "Christian nation" battling "Satan", the furore was quickly calmed.
Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, explained that Boykin was exercising his rights as a citizen: "We're a free people." President Bush declared that Boykin "doesn't reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration". Bush's commission on public diplomacy had reported that in nine Muslim countries, just 12% believed that "Americans respect Arab/Islamic values". The Pentagon announced that its inspector general would investigate Boykin, though he has yet to report.
Boykin was not removed or transferred. At that moment, he was at the heart of a secret operation to "Gitmoize" (Guantánamo is known in the US as Gitmo) the Abu Ghraib prison. He had flown to Guantánamo, where he met Major General Geoffrey Miller, in charge of Camp X-Ray. Boykin ordered Miller to fly to Iraq and extend X-Ray methods to the prison system there, on Rumsfeld's orders.
Boykin was recommended to his position by his record in the elite Delta forces: he was a commander in the failed effort to rescue US hostages in Iran, had tracked drug lord Pablo Escobar in Colombia, had advised the gas attack on barricaded cultists at Waco, Texas, and had lost 18 men in Somalia trying to capture a warlord in the notorious Black Hawk Down fiasco of 1993.
Boykin told an evangelical gathering last year how this fostered his spiritual crisis. "There is no God," he said. "If there was a God, he would have been here to protect my soldiers." But he was thunderstruck by the insight that his battle with the warlord was between good and evil, between the true God and the false one. "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."
Boykin was the action hero side of his boss, Stephen Cambone, a conservative defence intellectual appointed to the new post of undersecretary of intelligence. Cambone is universally despised by the officer corps for his arrogant, abrasive and dictatorial style and regarded as the personal symbol of Rumsfeldism. A former senior Pentagon official told me of a conversation with a three-star general, who remarked: "If we were being overrun by the enemy and I had only one bullet left, I'd use it on Cambone."
Cambone set about cutting the CIA and the state department out of the war on terror, but he had no knowledge of special ops. For this the rarefied civilian relied on the gruff soldier - a melding of "ignorance and recklessness", as a military intelligence source told me.
Just before Boykin was put in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden and then inserted into Iraqi prison reform, he was a circuit rider for the religious right. He allied himself with a small group called the Faith Force Multiplier that advocates applying military principles to evangelism. Its manifesto - Warrior Message - summons "warriors in this spiritual war for souls of this nation and the world ... "
Boykin staged a travelling slide show around the country where he displayed pictures of Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. "Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army," he preached. They "will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus". It was the reporting of his remarks at a revival meeting in Oregon that made them a subject of brief controversy.
There can be little doubt that he envisages the global war on terror as a crusade. With the Geneva conventions apparently suspended, international law is supplanted by biblical law. Boykin is in God's chain of command. President Bush, he told an Oregon congregation last June, is "a man who prays in the Oval Office". And the president, too, is on a divine mission. "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the US. He was appointed by God."
Boykin is not unique in his belief that Bush is God's anointed against evildoers. Before his 2000 campaign, Bush confided to a leader of the religious right: "I feel like God wants me to run for president ... I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen."
Michael Gerson, Bush's chief speechwriter, tells colleagues that on September 20 2001, after Bush delivered his speech to the Congress declaring a war on terror, he called Gerson to thank him for writing it. "God wants you here," Gerson says he told the president. And he says that Bush replied: "God wants us here."
But it's Bush who wants Rumsfeld, Cambone and Boykin here.
Sidney Blumenthal, a former senior advisor to President Clinton, is Washington bureau chief of Salon.com
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004


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Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips runs on to the practice field Wednesday.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak will miss Sunday's game against the Cardinals as he recovers from a transient ischemic attack, and his absence will change the way Arizona prepares for the matchup.
Bruce Arians said Houston's elevation of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to interim coach and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to play-caller forces the Cardinals to toss away any prior research.
"Once you have a different play-caller, that's a change," the Cardinals' coach said. "There are no tendencies. You have to throw all of that out the window and just play the offense the way it's designed to be played. Defensively, you play your defense. There's nothing that we have on Rick Dennison other than (Sunday's second) half of football."
Phillips will keep the interim coaching tag until Kubiak is healthy enough to return, which is
expected to be as soon as Nov. 17 against the Raiders.
Phillips, who has 37 years of NFL coaching experience, has been a full-time head coach with the Broncos, Bills and, most recently, the Cowboys. He was the interim coach in four games for the Saints in 1985 and three games for the Falcons in 2003. His interim coaching record is 3-4.
"I've been in those situations before, so hopefully my experience will help," Phillips said.
The Texans scored 21 first-half points against Indianapolis but only three after intermission. Phillips said Kubiak's health scare may have affected the team.
"You always certainly have concerns for people that you care about, and that's one that everybody cares about with our football team, our head coach," Phillips said. "There were a lot of unknowns. You still have to play football, and you have to do what you have to do, but there was certainly kind of a haze there as far as what was going on."
Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said Kubiak's health is in everyone's minds, but at 2-6 on the year, the team must be prepared for the matchup with the Cardinals.
"We know how important it is that we stay focused and we stay locked in," Watt said. "Also, we know it would make coach Kubiak smile a little bit if we could get a win for him."
Tight end Jake Ballard joined the Cardinals on Wednesday after agreeing to terms with the club earlier in the week.
Ballard had 38 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns with the New York Giants in 2011 but missed all of last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in Super Bowl XLVI. He went to training camp with the New England Patriots this year but was released on Aug. 30.
Ballard said he was "probably doing more than I should have at the time" with the Patriots. Now, Ballard said, he feels better physically and is ready to contribute if called upon.
"I got the playbook last night, I've been looking at it for, 10 hours now, I guess," Ballard said. "I just need to keep doing that, see how the practices go and make a judgment from there. But I'm definitely up for playing or doing whatever they need me to do."
Arizona released seventh-round draft pick D.C. Jefferson, also a tight end, to make room for Ballard.
The bye week apparently was significant for Larry Fitzgerald and his bad hamstring, since the wide receiver was not put on the injury report for the first time in a few weeks.
Linebacker Daryl Washington and left tackle Bradley Sowell missed Wednesday's practice due to illness. Their status going forward will be day-to-day. Wide receiver Brittan Golden (hamstring) also did not practice. Limited players were linebacker John Abraham (shoulder), running back Rashard Mendenhall (toe) and defensive end Frostee Rucker (calf).
For Houston, running back Arian Foster (back) did not practice, while the Texans' No. 2 back, Ben Tate, was limited with his bad ribs.
Also sitting out for the Texans were linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring), linebacker Darryl Sharpton (foot, toe) and guard Wade Smith (knee). Llinebacker Tavares Goodman (back), tight end Garrett Graham (thigh) and safety Shiloh Keo (ankle) were limited.


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Swain tourism leaders want to kill tax hike request
Tourism leaders in Swain County want county commissioners to withdraw state legislation requesting a 1 percent increase in the room tax to allow time for study.
The Tourism Development Board voted for the slowdown last week after some lodging owners vigorously protested the hike, which could lead to a 33-percent tax increase by raising the lodging tax paid by tourists from 3 percent to 4 percent.
The county wanted to use the extra $60,000 to $80,000 annually to pay for a new home for the chamber of commerce, which also serves as the county's visitor center. County leaders have rented a former bank building on Main Street across the intersection from the chamber's current home. Buying the building would cost $535,000.
TDA members said that until they saw the actual legislation, they were unaware the current five-member board would be dissolved and a new, county-appointed seven-member board put in its place. County commissioners also would name the TDA chairman instead of the board selecting its own.
Currently, commissioners apoint three of the tourism board members and the chamber appoints the other two. The new legislation is in line with 1997 guidelines that require the tourism board to be appointed by a public body, County Manager Kevin King said. If Swain wants the tax, increase, it must meet those guidelines.
Related Items
"For 20 years the TDA has worked with the chamber," said Chamber President Brad Walker. "Everything has worked fine. Why mess up something that works?"
The TDA and the chamber work in concert in Swain County, with the TDA paying the majority of the chamber director's salary and chamber membership dues paying an assistant.
"We're not trying to wipe out the whole board," King said in response to the complaints. "That was never our intent."
King pointed out that the county already appoints three of the board's members, and in that way controls the TDA membership already. That failed to pacify some lodging owners.
"I am really scared absolutely to death when I know that control of the TDA money could leave the TDA and move across to the county," said Dennis White, whose family operates 20 rental cabins in the county.
Others also questioned the use of TDA funding for a bricks-and-mortar project, saying they were not certain this was a proper use of room-tax funds. They indicated they think the money should go toward promotion.
"If you decide sewage lines help tourism, you could do that?" Walker queried King. "You can call anything tourist related. That's one of the biggest problems with this."
The county manager said using the money to buy the former bank building would meet the law's requirements, because the building would be used for tourism purposes to support tourism in the county.
At the TDA's request, King said he would place the board's request to kill the legislation to allow time for further study on the county commission's agenda.


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Society Full Of Outcasts And Addicts Living Beneath The Busy Streets Of Bucharest, Romania
Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is a beautiful city full of graceful architecture and rich with history. But beneath its beautiful streets is another world, buried there after the fall of Romania's brutal communist dictatorship – a world of sewers and forgotten orphans.
This underground network of sewers is home to the city's lost and forgotten souls, most of whom have HIV and a quarter of whom suffer from TB. The sewers, and their king Bruce Lee, were the subject of a recently released Channel 4 News film.
Bruce Lee, this underworld's king and primary drug dealer, is a complicated figure. He keeps the underground supplied with a metallic paint called Aurelac that they inhale to get high and with other synthetic drugs. However, the fearsome orphan and former street-fighter also pays local gangs for protection and protects other young orphans who have fallen through the cracks. Social workers say that Lee protects the youngsters from sexual predators and that junkies are far less likely to die when Lee offers them a warm place to sleep.
The sewers are remnants of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's grand plan to centrally heat the city. Although this plan didn't work out, the ruined infrastructure gave the orphans who were forgotten after the fall of his dictatorship a place to live.


text:
William H. Macy
Born: 3/13/1950
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Macy's acting career began somewhat inauspiciously doing voice-overs for commercials. He had trained under David Mamet at Goddard College in Vermont and worked in the theater, but was having difficulty landing television roles. He moved to Chicago in 1974 where he and Mamet were founding members of the St. Nicholas Theater. He eventually returned to California and started his film career in supporting roles in films such as Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Benny & Joon (1993), and The Client (1994). He began appearing regularly on television's ER (1994–98), which brought him to the attention of casting directors. It was his role in the Coen brothers' Fargo (1997), however, that really opened doors for Macy. Still opting for interesting supporting roles over more standard leading parts, Macy has appeared in Boogie Nights (1997), Air Force One (1997), Wag the Dog (1997), Pleasantville (1998), A Civil Action (1998), Psycho (1998), Magnolia (1999), State and Main (2000) and Jurassic Park III (2001). He's married to Sports Night's Felicity Huffman.


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No 7 colour lock nail enamel 474 bronzeberry by boots
Some fact about boots:
• Boots is a leading international pharmacy-led Health & Beauty retailer.
• 2009 marks the 160th Anniversary of when John Boot, the herbalist, opened his first store in Goose Gate, Nottingham.
• Our products are not tested on animals. Through our unique development facility and the millions of women and men who trust boots, we test all our products on people to ensure each and every product provides the desired results before offering into stores.
• We've tested our products on over 200,000 men and women enabling us to assess product performance on different skin types and in different environmental conditions.
• Boots developed Ibuprofen in 1960, which was patented in 1961. Boots was awarded the Queen's Award for Technical Achievement for the development of the drug in 1987.
• Boots' first Royal Warrant was granted to Baron Trent, of the Boots Pure Drug Company, on January 1st 1942.Royal Warrants are a mark of recognition to companies who've regularly supplied products to the Royal Household. They are regarded as a mark of excellence and quality, and are highly prized.
• No 7 the number 1 cosmetics and skin care brand in the UK; 1 in 3 women in the UK have a No7 product in their makeup bag.
More about boots and their brands on the boots united kingdom website: HERE
About no 7: HERE
At £4.85 for a 15 ml. bottle, they are definitely not the cheapest available. But for me this one was a present from my masi. She buys most of her stuff from boots.
Like most glitter nail polishes, it is basically a clear varnish with minute particles of glitter suspended in it. However, unlike the glitter polishes I have used before, the particles were either too small or too thinly dispersed because even after two coats the sparkle was barely evident.
The bottle assures me that this product is fragrance free, hypoallergenic and conditioning. I'm not sure that a product like nail polish, which smells strongly of…well…nail polish, can legitimately be described as fragrance free but one thing I did notice was that the smell lingers on and on and on, long after the polish has dried. Like with most polishes (or not)
The integral brush with which the enamel is applied is too thick and unwieldy, painting not just my nails but the sides of my fingers and my cuticles too. The overall effect is messy, particularly as the polish takes so long to dry and is thus very prone to smudging.
Pros of no 7 colour lock nail enamel:
• 474 bronze berry is a lovely winter shade.
• It is deep berry like and can be used as a good substitute for striking reds
• For girls who like shimmer in their polish with not overdoing it this is a good option
• The quantity, the bottle is pretty big. Bigger than the usual nail varnishes
• If kept for long this does not dry fast. I have been using this bottle since over 8 months now. I used it in winters.
Cons of no 7 colour lock nail enamel:
• Does not really lock in the colour as it does not dry super fast.
• The colour stayed on as it is for not more than 2 days and started chipping.
• The smell is very paint like. Dislike 🙁
• No 7 are not to be found anywhere apart from boots in England.
• Not a colour which would attract me towards itself.
• Am not too fond of shimmer.
• Chips real soon
• I have tried few other no7 products and this one did not come up to my expectation.
Love all
Fly girl


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MISSION, Kan. — (Family Features) Families are working to stretch their back-to-school shopping budgets further this year, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Foundation. But saving money isn't just about how much you spend on supplies; it's also about making school supplies and equipment last as long as possible.
Here are some tips for protecting your students' school gear to help stretch your budget – and their gear:
Talk with children about handling tech devices. Kids will be kids, and sometimes that means they'll be tough on their stuff. Unfortunately, their school-mandated tech devices – such as calculators, tablets and laptops – can't always take the beating. To reduce the risk of accidental breakage, talk to kids about proper handling and storage of their devices and the potential risks for breakage when drops, spills and hard impacts occur.
Lighten the backpack load. Between books and laptops, students tend to pack a lot of heavy items in their backpacks during the course of a school year. As the load increases, backpack zippers may break, and seams may tear from the daily stress. Reduce the wear and tear by ensuring your kids don't over-pack their bags. Not only will this reduce strain on their backpacks, it will lighten the load on students' backs as well.
Consider a protection plan. Research shows that some school essentials – such as backpacks and laptop batteries – break or stop functioning within the first 1-2 years of use. To help keep costs down, many retailers offer reputable protection plans, such as SIMPLR, which can help repair or replace the equipment for free or a fraction of what you'd normally pay on your own.
Sharing isn't always caring. Even if your child handles his calculator or laptop with care, his friends might not. Establish guidelines with your kids at the start of the school year about what items can be shared with others at school and which cannot. For those things that can be shared, consider encouraging your child to establish ground rules when sharing with friends. Guidelines could include when the item should be returned, tasks for which the item will be used and an understanding that items will be handled with care.
Don't forget about bikes. Kids who ride their bikes to school can be just as hard on their bikes as they are on their school supplies. A tune-up at the start of the school year can keep the bike running smoothly and help catch wear and tear, such as damaged spokes or worn tires and brake pads.
For more information on protection plans for your child's school supplies and tech devices, visit simplrplan.com.
Source: Family Features Editorial Syndicate


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Our long national nightmare is over. The Bold and the Beautiful's Katherine Kelly Lang — aka eternal sexpot Brooke Logan — has scored her first Daytime Emmy nomination after 26 years on the job. The much-adored actress shared her excitement with TV Guide Magazine soon after she got the news.
Our long national nightmare is over. The Bold and the Beautiful's Katherine Kelly Lang — aka eternal sexpot Brooke Logan — has scored her first Daytime Emmy nomination after 26 years on the job. The much-adored actress shared her excitement with TV Guide Magazine soon after she got the news.
TV Guide Magazine: Are you as shocked as we are?
Lang: [Laughs] Isn't it amazing? I remember years and years ago when Susan Flannery [Stephanie] was nominated for B&B for the first time and she said, "I never thought it would happen!" And somehow that always gave me hope, because if someone as amazing as Susan had to wait, then why wouldn't I?
TV Guide Magazine: So the year-in, year-out snub never bummed you out?
Lang: Not at all. I'm the kind of person who tries not to let things get me down. I love persevering. I love acting every day. I'm so lucky to have this job and to have it for so long.
TV Guide Magazine: Did you hear Robin Roberts give you a shout out on Good Morning America this morning after your name was read?
Lang: No, I don't know anything about that! Really? Wow, I hope I can find it online. I was at a dinner with some Italian friends having way too good a time last night and was out until 1a.m.. [B&B exec producer] Brad Bell called me at 6 a.m. to tell me the news. I'm like, "Who's calling me at this hour?" [Laughs] Hey, it's not the worst way to wake up!
TV Guide Magazine: What do you think made the difference this year? Was it your switch from leading actress to supporting?
Lang: I'm not the type to analyze or speculate. It was my choice to switch to the supporting category because [in 2012] that's what I was. Brooke didn't really have a story of her own. She was busy supporting her daughter, doing a lot of mom stuff, and of course supporting Stephanie as she was dying. We'll see how it all turns out. I'm just so satisfied being nominated.
TV Guide Magazine: Did you submit Stephanie's death to the Emmy judges?
Lang: Yes, the episode where Brooke takes Stephanie out into the woods, they sit down and talk and then she passes away. I only submitted one episode instead of two [as Emmy rules allow]. I didn't want too much pain or for it to get laborious. [Laughs] I didn't want people speeding ahead through my reel to get to the next actress.
TV Guide Magazine: Were you surprised Stephanie only wanted Brooke with her at the end?
Lang: I was happy! I thought it was perfect. [Laughs] Of course, the fans were going, "How come Brooke gets to be the one with Stephanie when she dies? This is sooo wrong!" Brooke was a huge thing in Stephanie's life for many years, a problem mostly, but in the end they were best friends. In a way, it was the love story of the show. They'd been through so much history, so much fighting. They were the supercouple of B&B.
TV Guide Magazine: Have you had a chance to congratulate Susan on her nomination this morning?
Lang: Yes! And she is so excited but she's even more excited about me. That's Susan. I love and admire her so much and have learned so much from her. She's so strong, so feisty. I'm in awe of her at every moment. I wish I could do what she does.
TV Guide Magazine: Will you celebrate tonight?
Lang: [Laughs] I don't think so, especially after being out with my Italians last night. I love Italians. I love Italy. We just couldn't stop! So I'm considering that my pre-celebration. I'm heading to the studio right now to shoot two shows today and then I'm really tempted to go home and collapse...in utter happiness!
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MacDONALD, WILLIAM PETER, Roman Catholic priest, journalist, and author; b. 25 March 1771 in the parish of Eberlow, Banffshire, Scotland, son of Thomas MacDonald and Ann Watt; d. 2 April 1847 in Toronto.
William Peter MacDonald studied at the seminary of Douai, France, and at the Royal Scots College in Valladolid, Spain, where he was ordained to the priesthood on 24 Sept. 1796. After teaching for two years at the seminary in Aquhorthies, Scotland, he was employed from 1798 to 1810 in the Catholic ministry in his native land. In 1810 he participated in the expedition to liberate the deposed Ferdinand VII of Spain, held prisoner by Napoleon, and two years later he was appointed chaplain of the Baron de Roll's regiment of infantry. For some time before his return to Scotland in 1814 he served as chaplain to the British embassy in Madrid. He continued to work in the Scottish missions until Bishop Alexander McDonell of Kingston, Upper Canada, invited him to his diocese in 1826. Having responded favourably to this overture, MacDonald was assigned to St Raphaels parish in Glengarry County, where he ministered from December 1826 to 1829 and became first rector of Iona College. Shortly after his arrival, he was promoted vicar general of the diocese of Kingston. The Canadian clergy was impressed with Bishop McDonell's new recruit, a man who had already published a book of poetry dedicated to Edward* Augustus, the Duke of Kent.
MacDonald was to serve as pastor of a number of Upper Canadian parishes: Kingston 1829–34, Toronto 1834–35, Bytown (Ottawa) 1835–36, Brockville 1836–38, Hamilton 1838–46, and Toronto 1846–47. He wrote two more works during these years, one a polemical anti-Protestant tract, the other a pamphlet refuting arguments made by the Anglican archdeacon of Toronto, John Strachan*, on the occasion of the conversion to Roman Catholicism of John Elmsley*. He also compiled a collection of hymns which remained unpublished. Upon being transferred to Hamilton late in 1838, he immediately undertook the construction of a stone church, completed in the autumn of 1839, and a stone rectory, which was finished shortly afterwards.
MacDonald never got along well with his ecclesiastical superiors. Mutual suspicion, even contempt, seems to have been the prevailing mood. After arriving in Bytown in the autumn of 1835, he proceeded to make arrangements with the Catholics of Hull and Templeton, in the diocese of Montreal, to serve their religious needs in return for their contributing to the support of the two priests in Bytown. Bishop Jean-Jacques Lartigue of Montreal was not consulted and was consequently miffed. The year before, when Bishop McDonell had appointed MacDonald to Toronto, coadjutor bishop Rémi Gaulin* commented that given his poor qualities as a parish administrator, MacDonald was a most unfortunate choice, particularly in the light of the strong feeling in Toronto against the Scots. For his part, MacDonald was regularly critical of his bishops and his fellow clergymen.
On 22 Oct. 1830 appeared the first issue of the Catholic, a weekly newspaper established by MacDonald and printed in Kingston by Thomas Dalton. The title page explains the paper's raison d'être: "an exposition of the Catholic doctrine, designed to repel the calumnies and misrepresentations, which though so often refuted, have been constantly reiterated in the sectarian papers in these provinces." A spirited, and sometimes acrimonious, debate was thus initiated between the Catholic, Egerton Ryerson*'s Christian Guardian, Adam Hood Burwell's Christian Sentinel, and other newspapers. The last issue of volume I of the Catholic appeared on 14 Oct. 1831. The author/publisher then discontinued the paper, alleging overwork and some criticism. Ten years later, however, MacDonald resurrected the periodical. It continued until May 1844, when it was sold. From 1841 through 1844, MacDonald frequently complained of the lack of financial support for his paper from various churchmen. "All is dead in our Diocese," he commented.
Following the erection of the diocese of Toronto on 17 Dec. 1841, its first bishop, Michael Power, appointed MacDonald his vicar general (10 May 1842). MacDonald was the promoter of the first Toronto synod, held in early October 1842. In March 1844, however, Power dismissed MacDonald as vicar general for disciplinary reasons, although he kept him as pastor of Hamilton. The bishop's main complaint was that, contrary to the regulations of the synod, MacDonald did not wear his soutane on the streets of Hamilton.
Within two years MacDonald had not only been reinstated as vicar general but, along with Father John James Hay, had also been chosen by Power to administer the diocese of Toronto during the bishop's six-month journey to Europe. In December 1846 MacDonald left Hamilton, where he had been replaced by Edward John Gordon*, to reside in the newly completed bishop's palace in Toronto. He died there on 2 April 1847, his remains being buried in the unfinished St Michael's Cathedral.
William Peter MacDonald's volume of poetry dedicated to the Duke of Kent was published in London in 1818 as The moneiad: or, the power of money. His anti-Protestant tract appeared under the title The Protestant, or negative faith refuted, and the Catholic, or affirmative faith demonstrated from Scripture (Kingston, [Ont.], 1836). The Arch. of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto holds a bound volume of his manuscript hymns entitled "Hymns translated from the latin Originals; With Others; and Occasional Poems on Sacred Subjects, composed by the Revd. Wm. MacDonald, Vicar General, U.C." at M (Macdonell papers), AE22.01. MacDonald is also the author of Remarks on Doctor Strachan's pamphlet against the Catholic doctrine of the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Eucharist . . . (Kingston, 1834).
ACAM, 255.102, 834-5. Arch. of the Archdiocese of Kingston, AI (Alexander MacDonell papers, corr.), 1 C24-9, 2C3-32, 2C4; BI (Remigius Gaulin papers, corr.), 1C15-1, -3, -5; CI (Patrick Phelan papers, corr.), 2C21. Arch. of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, LB 02 (Michael Power, letter-book, 1842–65): 130–32, 145–47, 260–61; M (Macdonell papers), AE01.01–2, .04; AE02.01; AE16.01; AE19.03; CA17.01, .03, .09. Michael Power, Constitutiones diocesanœ in synodo Torontina prima latæ et promulgatœ (Toronto, 1842). Catholic, a Religious Weekly Periodical (Kingston; Hamilton, [Ont.]), 1830–31, 1841–44. Robert Choquette, L'Église catholique dans l'Ontario français du dix-neuvième siècle (Ottawa, 1984). S. D. Gill, "'The sword in the Bishop's hand': Father William Peter MacDonald, a Scottish defender of the Catholic faith in Upper Canada," Study Sessions, 50 (1983): 437–52.
© 1988–2024 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Cite This Article
Robert Choquette, "MacDONALD, WILLIAM PETER," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed March 4, 2024, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/macdonald_william_peter_7E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
Permalink: | http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/macdonald_william_peter_7E.html |
Author of Article: | Robert Choquette |
Title of Article: | MacDONALD, WILLIAM PETER |
Publication Name: | Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7 |
Publisher: | University of Toronto/Université Laval |
Year of publication: | 1988 |
Year of revision: | 1988 |
Access Date: | March 4, 2024 |


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We've all had them, those tooth-grindingly painful encounters at our local beauty counters. From the over enthusiastic SAs who turn us orange to the snooty brigade who look like they'd rather cop off with Barry Manilow than grace us with their attention.
photo credit: w578325
Shall I tell you mine? (Oh, go on then… if you insist!)
I was in a big department store a couple of years ago, I won't name the counter but they were a new installment. I approached with a small amount of trepidation and started swatching at the pretties. Within about a nano-second, I'd been swooped upon and 'dusted' with a powder brush.
I recoiled as the bubbly SA introduced the brand and steeled myself for the hard sell but she seemed to calm down once she realised she had my attention and that I *really* did want to hear about some of the products.
I pointed out a couple of things that I was interested in and asked if it would be ok for me to try them. She squealed and showed me over to the makeup station, signalling for me to sit down. I realised that we'd clearly had a communication meltdown when she started playing big-time makeovers on my face. Ontop of my already applied foundation. Ugh.
In fairness to her, I'm one of those who suffers in silence. I sit there and suck it up with a semi-smile glued to my face while my eyes search for the nearest exit. She moved on to the eyebrows, painting them (literally) black with the help of a wet brush and a liberal dose of powder. I watch in horror as she (all the time telling me about her marriage breakdown and subsequent move to London) transforms me into a cartoon version of my self.
"There!" she proclaims. I'm left waiting for the "Ta-da!"
I slink away clutching two products, in fairness… one of which is now a HG and find the nearest toilet in an attempt fix the car crash on my face.
I have to return 10 minutes later because the SA had given me the wrong shade for one of my products. At which point she apologises and confides that she's still learning the ropes. Why would that be? Well, she normally works in the brand's office but that they were short-staffed on counter that day.
Laugh? Cry? I think I did a bit of both.
I wanna hear about your worst beauty counter experience. Spill!


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Republican Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina has signed a bill that requires the state to adopt new content standards for the 2015-16 school year and drop the Common Core State Standards.
In effect, this means that South Carolina has become the second state to drop the common standards, although the actual replacement of common core with "new" standards won't take place until the 2015-16 year. The common core will remain in place in South Carolina for the 2014-15 school year. So the so-called repeal of the common core in the Palmetto State hasn't technically gone into effect yet.
Haley, an outspoken opponent of the common core, signed the bill May 30.
Here's a twist in the legislation: If the South Carolina Department of Education develops new standards, then the state school board and the Education Oversight Committee (a non-legislative but official government entity in the state) must sign off on them. That's standard procedure right now. However, under the new law, any new standards not developed by the state education department also have to be approved by a joint resolution of the legislature.
That provision appears to be a protection against the state simply re-adopting large portions of the common core without any say-so from legislators, specifically those who oppose the common core. Indiana, the first state to officially drop the common core, has been accused of replacing the common core in name only by opponents of the standards. Indeed, analysts who have looked at the new standards have said they are similar in many respects to the common core.
The new law also prohibits the state from adopting or administering the common-core assessments being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The state left Smarter Balanced, one of two groups developing federally-financed assessments aligned to the common core, earlier this year. This move by South Carolina involved a bitter battle between state Superintendent Mick Zais and the state school board over who has the authority to make what decision regarding state assessments. Zais has been opposed to both the Smarter Balanced tests and common core.
UPDATE: We've updated our common-core adoption map to reflect the status of the standards in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.


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April 17, 2012
Good for K-State spring 2012 issue now live
The spring 2012 issue of Good for K-State is now available.
Good for K-State is a magazine devoted to the inspiration and impact of private philanthropy for Kansas State University. Along with stories about alumni, friends and donors who are advancing K-State, this issue includes a special feature about endowed faculty who represent the extraordinary range of character, passion and vision of the K-State faculty.
The online version of Good for K-State requires you to have version 8.0 of Flash.


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It doesn't take much for me to fall in love with a wedding dress, there are so many gorgeous ones out there! This dress is no exception, I think that it is just stunning. It's so dramatic, but not complicated and overdone. I really like the layers of the skirt, it lays so beautifully. And of course the birdcage veil is quite the finishing touch!
(photos by Trista Lerit)


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The Challenge: Create an App to Provide Real-Time Info & Streamline the Connection between Service Providers Aiding the Homeless
Five Finalists Will Now Test Their Apps at the JBJ Soul Kitchen to Determine Winning App
WASHINGTON, DC – June 6, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today joined JBJ Soul Foundation Chairman, Jon Bon Jovi, to announce the five finalists of Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless) during the Health Data Initiative Forum in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS).
The developer challenge was launched last March by the VA, in collaboration with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HHS, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which operates the JBJ Soul Kitchen – the community restaurant in Monmouth County, N.J., where competing apps will now be tested. The Project REACH developer challenge called for an online and web application that would provide real-time info to connect service providers who aid the homeless.
"To achieve our goal to end Veteran homelessness, it is vitally important that we capitalize on innovative ideas from the public and private sector. The developer community has responded quickly and creatively to harness technology to meet the needs of homeless Veterans and their providers," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "I am grateful for their hard work on behalf of the Nation's homeless Veterans."
Today's five finalists will receive a $10,000 cash prize and will now pilot their mobile applications at JBJ Soul Kitchen (a community kitchen where diners cover the cost of their meals either through donation or volunteer service). These easy-to-use mobile/web applications have been judged on their ability to update information about housing and shelter near JBJ Soul Kitchen. Additionally, finalists have been able to display information about local VA services, employment support, crisis hotlines and local legal assistance resources.
Ultimately, the $25,000 prize will be awarded to the developer whose app is determined to be scalable on a national level and enables health clinics, food kitchens, housing services and shelters to update the availability of key services automatically online. The winning app will collect, map, and electronically distribute that information for communities across the nation. Throughout the challenge, requirements and performance criteria have been made available at www.challenge.gov.
"We all use smartphones, tablets, or laptops to check the score of a game or to text our friends," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "These bright minds will develop a tool that can actually connect homeless veterans with the help they need to move beyond a life on the streets."
"Every American should have a home, and although we've made progress in our battle against homelessness, there's more work to do," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, chair of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. "With the help of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Jon Bon Jovi Foundation, we are using innovative technology to help homeless people and their families get resources they need – such as health care, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat."
"The genesis of this Challenge occurred at the Soul Kitchen last winter when we saw the need for a simple, user-friendly, comprehensive application that would allow us to direct our diners to other resources in the community. We found the VA, HUD and HHS to be of like mind. Collectively, these organizations represent a cumulative wealth of information and now these five finalists have suggested platforms that could tie it all together in real time. They deserve our thanks and congratulations," said Jon Bon Jovi, musician and Chairman of the JBJ Soul Foundation.
Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless) finalists are:
- Finalist #1
Leads: Robert Damashek, Corey Brown
Organization: Binary Group
Location: Arlington, Va. - Finalist #2
Lead: John McCarthy
Location: Forest Hills, N.Y. - Finalist #3
Leads: Jessi Schoenleber, Joe Nicosia
Organization: JJAppCo, LLC
Location: Manchester, N.J. - Finalist #4
Leads: Joshua Temkin and Jim Homer
Organization: Qbase
Location: Reston, Va. - Finalist #5
Lead: Mike McDougall
Organization: Makani Kai Tech
Location: Kihei, Hawaii
"The success of Project REACH will be a testament of the developer community's commitment to addressing one of the nation's most important problems," said Jonah Czerwinski, director of the Veterans Affairs Innovation Initiative (VAi2). "All the contestants who participated in this challenge represent that commitment, and their talent is evident in the quality of the apps."
Former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, who helped lead the challenge and is one of the judges, said, "Secretary Shinseki's mission is to end Veteran and chronic homelessness. I really appreciate the great work of the VA Innovation team and the JBJ Soul Foundation to pull this contest together, and I congratulate them on the great outcome. This is going to make a big difference in the lives of people who need our help."
One out of every six men and women in our nation's homeless shelters are Veterans, and Veterans are 50 percent more likely to fall into homelessness compared to other Americans. The Obama Administration's "no wrong door" philosophy means that all Veterans seeking to prevent or escape homelessness must have easy access to programs.
HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the
need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build
inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and
http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at
www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.
Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685


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- Home
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- Petitions to Install Fire Protection Systems
Petitions to Install Fire Protection Systems
Fire protection system means pipe, standpipes, sprinklers, control systems, hydrants, and other devices and equipment installed in or outside a building for the primary purpose of eliminating or reducing the spread of fire in the building or providing for safe evacuation of the building, whether the devices and equipment are publicly or privately owned.
The City of Hopkins, at its sole discretion, may honor petitions to construct, reconstruct, alter extend, operate, maintain and promote fire protection systems in existing buildings under the following conditions:
- The project meets the requirements of Minnesota State Statute 429.031.
- The total amount of petitions honored for a given calendar year do not exceed $200,000.
Petitions Honored
Petitions will be honored on a first come, first serve basis. If the amounts requested exceed dollars allocated for that year, the petitions will be placed on a list and honored the following year in order of greatest need using the following criteria:
- Orders issued by the City requiring work or its equivalency be done.
- Financial hardship by the requesting company such as not being able to qualify for a loan to do the work.
- A letter of application shall be submitted and signed by all owners of the property.
- The petition shall also contain the plans and specifications for the improvement, the estimated cost of the improvement and a statement indicating whether the City or the owner will contract for the construction of the improvement.
- If the owner is contracting for the construction of the improvement, the City shall not approve the petition until it has reviewed and approved the plans, specifications, and cost estimates contained in the petition.
- The construction cost financed under Section 429.091 shall not exceed the amount of the cost estimate contained in the petition.
- The petitioner may request abandonment of the improvement at any time after it has been ordered pursuant to Section 429.041,Subd 2. If such a request is received, the City Council shall abandon the proceedings but in such case the petitioner shall reimburse the City for any and all expenses incurred by the City in connection with the improvement.
- The cost of the improvements plus an administrative fee of 5% or $100 whichever is greater, will be assessed to the petitioning property owner under the provisions of Section 429. The length of the assessment shall not exceed 10 years and the interest rate shall not exceed 8%.
Dale Specken
Fire ChiefPhone: 952-548-6451


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Let Us Live the Gospel More Fully
What a tremendous work you are doing, you faithful Latter-day Saints all across the world, who carry in your hearts a firm and unswerving testimony.
What a glorious time we have had together, my beloved brethren and sisters. It is truly a wonderful thing to step out of the world, as it were, and set aside two days to reflect on things divine.
We are all so busy with our mundane pursuits which pull us this way and that. We all need, the whole world needs, the opportunity to meditate and reflect on the things of God and to listen to words that inspire and help.
Our testimonies have been strengthened, and it is good, for as President Harold B. Lee once said, our testimonies need renewing every day.1
I am satisfied that the Latter-day Saints have within their hearts a desire to do the right thing, to live after the manner which the Lord has outlined for us. We have been reminded of many of these things during this conference.
I hope that when we return to our homes, before retiring for the night we each will get on our knees and express our appreciation and ask for the strength to live the gospel more fully as a result of this conference.
I am so grateful for the beautiful music of the choir; they have sung so wonderfully. This is such a great and dedicated organization, and we thank all who give so generously of their time and talents to this great effort. I am grateful for the music yesterday of the singles choir; they were an inspiration. And the great singing last night of the young men in the Missionary Training Center, who came and sang to us with great power, thank you so very much for what you have given us.
Now I would like to read in conclusion just a few words from Moroni:
"And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of [Christ]" (Moro. 10:31–32).
As a result of this great conference each of us should be a better man or a better woman, a better boy or a better girl. Thank you so much, my brothers and sisters, for your great service in moving this work forward. What a tremendous work you are doing, you faithful Latter-day Saints all across the world, who carry in your hearts a firm and unswerving testimony of the reality of the living God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer, and of Their appearance in this dispensation to begin anew a great era in the history of the world in preparation for that time when the Son of God shall come to reign as Lord of lords and King of kings.
May the blessings of heaven rest upon you, my dear friends. I pray that what you have heard and seen may make a difference in your lives. I pray that each of us will be a little more kind, a little more thoughtful, a little more courteous. I pray that we will keep our tongues in check and not let anger prompt words which we would later regret. I pray that we may have the strength and the will to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile in lifting up the feeble knees of those in distress.
This gospel is an intimate thing. It is not some distant concept. It is applicable in our lives. It can change our very natures.
May God bless you, my wonderful, faithful associates, in this great work. May His peace and His love be upon you and enshrine your lives with an essence of godliness.
As we return to our homes, I pray that in our hearts there will be a resolution to live together more fully as we should do as Latter-day Saints. I leave my love and my blessing with you in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God be with you till we meet again. Thank you, and amen.


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NYPD beefs up security ahead of Passover holiday
Apr 3, 2012, 7:02 PM
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Police Department is beefing up security at the city's synagogues and other Jewish sites this week for the Passover holiday in the wake of a deadly attack on a religious school in France last month.
Authorities stressed that there have been no specific threats reported in the city for the weeklong holiday, which starts at sundown Friday.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said there would be heightened security and the deployment of heavily armed roving counterterrorism units.
"We'll ensure that coverage is more than adequate in those neighborhoods, adding foot posts, visits by officers to synagogues, outreach by community affairs officers, and a heightened presence of anti-crime," Kelly said Tuesday to a roomful of the city's Jewish leaders.
Kelly said the security measures were not related to the investigation of an online mock movie poster that warns that al-Qaida wants to return to New York City. The poster surfaced early Monday, and came from a forum where known terrorists have participated.
The department has kept a constant eye on militant groups for signs they might attack in New York, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. The city faces constant threats in al-Qaida, the Hezbollah guerrilla group and so-called homegrown terrorists, Kelly said.
The NYPD dispatched extra patrols to more than 50 locations throughout New York last month on the news that an armed man on a motorbike had attacked a Jewish school in Toulouse, a southwestern city north of the Pyrenees mountains. The shooting left a rabbi, his two young sons and a schoolgirl dead.
There were no specific threats against New York then, either, but the department decided to take the measures as a precaution.
The nation's largest police department also discussed with leaders that it took similar precautions in 2008 after Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed in a car bombing in Syria. The group blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's death.
A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, "we know that counterterrorism is now a permanent part of our mission," Kelly said at the briefing.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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[Originally written on 1/16/2013]
How do people from the US spend their time? As a US citizen traveling abroad, I am always curious about how we are perceived, and I have found that, in general, US Americans spend their days doing two things: eating and working. If you are from California you might also surf.
While the perception that US work life is all-consuming has likely been propagated by planefuls of businessmen and -women jetting off to their next conference, or by TV shows in which the protagonists rarely leave the workplace, I don't think anyone can deny that this generalization is based in fact. I have to ask: when did the life of the "average American" become defined by his or her chosen profession? When did the phrase "my life is my work" (or vice-versa) become so commonplace?
I recognized the bizarre nature of our relationship with work yesterday when Lolo, one of our drivers and guides, asked me to translate some common conversational phrases into English. At "qué es tu carrera?" I had to pause. It sounded foreign to my ears to say "what is your career?" or "what is your profession?" "What is your occupation" sounded overly stiff and formal. My teammate Sarah and I looked at each other, realizing simultaneously that in the US, the most common way to ask about someone's work is to ask, "what do you do?"
Relaying this to Lolo, we were met with a look of bewilderment. "You can do anything. How will they know what you're asking about?" He wondered. We assured him that if you were to stop a stranger on the street in the US and ask this very question, he or she would know exactly how to answer. And Lolo was right…that's a little messed up.
Here in El Salvador, any one person might have a million answers to that question, and they might change from moment to moment, encompassing a wide range of identities. Yet each would be as appropriate as the last. The people that I have gotten to know here work just as hard as their US counterparts—just ask Lolo—yet they are not defined by their occupations. Rather, equally important are those moments outside of work: stopping to chat with a neighbor, lingering over lunch with the family and yes, taking a daytime nap in a hammock. In fact, there are hammocks hanging everywhere for that very purpose.
The irony here is that a part of our reason for being in El Salvador is to work, and we have been working A LOT. Not to mention that all of us are currently in school, learning to develop professional expertise, and hoping for long careers in our chosen fields. Even so, I hope that rest of the team, like me, has taken the time to enjoy the flourishing "hammock culture" of El Salvador. In other words, to learn to let life slow down a little, and enjoy the small pleasures that each day brings, as the Salvadorian people do. I already know what my souvenir will be upon leaving the country: my busy student's life back in Monterey could use a nice hammock.


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Here's one thing Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio did not address at that meeting today. It's an idea Rubio has floated recently: an alternative to the DREAM Act. That's the measure backed by the White House which would create a path to citizenship for young people brought to the country illegally so long as they go to college or serve in the military. The bill never made it out of Congress. NPR's Tamara Keith explains Rubio's version.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Senator Rubio's alternative DREAM Act doesn't actually exist. At this point it's a set of ideas he's talked about in interviews. It's not on paper. There's no bill language. But it is certainly generating buzz at a time when the GOP is ramping up its efforts to reach out to Latinos. The biggest difference between Rubio's new DREAM Act and the original is Rubio's doesn't guarantee a path to citizenship.
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO: There is a difference between path to citizenship and legalization.
KEITH: This is Rubio in a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera last month.
RUBIO: You can legalize someone's status in this country with a significant amount of certainty about their future without placing them on a path towards citizenship, and I think that that is something that we can find consensus on.
KEITH: Rubio's plan would give these young people what's called a nonimmigrant visa, so no green card but the ability to go to college and get a driver's license without worrying about being deported. Here's how Rubio described it at an event last week hosted by National Journal.
RUBIO: Allows them to continue to contribute to this country. And if they eventually decide that they would like to become residents and therefore - and then thereafter citizens - allow them to do that the same way that anybody else in the world would be able to do it, and that is by accessing the existing route that is now in place.
KEITH: For some, this sounds a whole lot like Senator Rubio wants to take the dream out of the DREAM Act. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he's willing to work with Republicans on this, but...
SENATOR HARRY REID: I am not going to greet anything that is short of allowing these young men and women to become citizens after they make the sacrifices they do.
KEITH: Some of the undocumented students, known as DREAMers, have come out against it, because it comes up short of the original DREAM Act. But others are withholding judgment.
JUAN ESCALANTE: You know, as time keeps going by and a lot of us keep getting older, you know, comes the realization that at the end of the day what we need is solutions.
KEITH: Juan Escalante is a recent graduate of Florida State University and describes his immigration status as in limbo. He works with a group called DreamActivist.org and says he has mixed feelings about the Rubio alternative.
ESCALANTE: We need to be realistic with our expectations.
KEITH: Expectations might be raised with talk from such a prominent Republican, and Tyler Moran, policy director with the National Immigration Law Center, says she hopes this isn't a case of playing politics with young people's lives.
TYLER MORAN: We're really happy that Senator Rubio has stepped forward to express concerns about the students that would be affected by the DREAM Act. And the question is: If he turns around, who's standing behind him in the Republican Party?
KEITH: Rubio has taken heat for this proposal from both the left and the right, and it's not clear at this point whether he could build enough of a coalition behind it to make something happen. At his press conference today, Mitt Romney was asked if he supports it.
MITT ROMNEY: I'm taking a look at his proposal. It has many features to commend it, but it's something that we're studying.
KEITH: Or in other words, that's not an endorsement - yet. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the Capitol. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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After ten months of a private pilot limited to only 50,000 users, Square has finally opened its doors to the public. The brainchild of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, Square was unveiled last December as a small credit card reader that could turn any iPhone into a mobile cash register. The startup has since unveiled apps for the iPad, Android and iPhone. And Dorsey brought on PayPal and Slide veteran Keith Rabois as General Manager in August. As Square exits its pilot, the startup is hitting an impressive milestone: Square is now processing millions of dollars in mobile transactions every week.
So where is Square seeing the most traction? Without a doubt, small businesses, independent workers and merchants comprise most of Square's rapidly growing user base. The technology only requires its tiny credit card scanner that fits into your audio jack and Square's app. The device and the software are free, but Square takes a small percentage of each transaction (2.75% plus 15 cents for swiped transactions).
While merchants have to qualify for the app, Square's qualification rules are more relaxed than those of standard credit card processors, There are no initiation fees, monthly minimums, and when merchants apply for a reader, Square doesn't just focus on a credit check, but also takes into account the influence a company holds on Yelp, Twitter or Facebook.
Rabois tells me that that Square is the "PayPal for the real world." He also compares Square as the "Apple for financial services," because it is so easy to use out of the box. Indeed, when I spoke to merchants and Square users, ease of use and simplicity were ubiquitous descriptions of the device.
Nicole Westmoreland, the co-president of the Crocker Highlands Elementary PTA in Oakland, started using Square on an iPhone in mid-September to raise money through sales of swag and tickets for the organization. In a little over a month, the PTA had taken in $4500, and Westmoreland maintains that she would have only been able to raise $1000 without Square. "It was an easy way to force people to pay on the spot," says Westmoreland.
Another interesting use case involves Dr. John Horning, a practitioner who makes house calls in the Bay Area. Because his work is completely mobile, an easy to use payments system was a must. Because of the nature of his business, payments tend to be large so credit cards are often the go to way for patients to pay. He previously used a wired credit card scanner but found it cumbersome and difficult to use. Square, on the other hand, fits into his medical bag (he uses it with his Android phone), and is an easy system for his staff to learn as well.
And for some entrepreneurs, Square is a way to both bring in revenue and save money. For San Francisco cupcake store Mission Minis, Square was a way of avoiding a costly cash register. Brandon Arnovik said that a point of sale system was the last thing on his mind when launching his bakery; and when he looked at the prices of systems he was overwhelmed. He heard of Square, and actually bought an iPad just so he could use the card scanning system on the device. One advantage he says of using the system, is that it can be used to provide detailed metrics on sales. For example, Arnovik can know how many red velvet cupcakes were sold in a given day.
Rabois says that Square now has well over 50,000 users since opening to the public but the number is impressive considering that most of Square's growth has been organic and through word of mouth. In fact the company, only hired its first marketing staffer last week.
Of course, things have not been completely rosy for Square and the company has faced the same problems that most early-stage companies encounter in the first year of business. The startup has faced compatibility hiccups and shipments of the actual device were delayed over the summer over credit processing issues. To prevent credit fraud, Square limits transactions numbers, but customers complained that the limits are too low. And VeriFone entered the space with a deal with PayPal.
PayPay is a great product for people who sell things online, but one advantage Square has over a competitor like Verifone, says Rabois, is the magical brand attachment. "If you look at the people who are using Square," he says, "they are enthusiastic about both the brand and the device." And he's not too worried about VeriFone, saying that it's unclear if VeriFone's pricing is competitive to Square's model.
Plus, Square, he says is perfect for face-to-face transactions and has proven to actually help increase sales for small businesses. One his favorite use cases of Square is for a local Granola company called San Franola. The bootstrapped team started using Square to sell at farmers markets and office buildings and saw revenue go up by 20 percent.
But will Square be able to take off if its users are mainly small businesses? Probably. In May, Dorsey told us that of the roughly 30 million US merchants who make less than $100,000 per year, of this group only 6 million are currently processing credit cards. The remainder, or 24 million businesses, are all potential Square customers who are looking for a low-cost and simple way to process credit cards.
However, while Rabois says that while targeting large retailers and merchants isn't a set strategy, we can probably expect a few larger-scale strategic partnerships the company will form in the future. Zappos is actually using Square in-house for sample sales of extra inventory, from which the proceeds go to charity. And the company used Square to raise money for LiveStrong at a recent golf tournament. Sean Kim, director of business development for Zappos, says that "people continue to be amazed by the convenience of it." Kim says that without a doubt, the use of Square helped raise more funds for the charity initiatives.
As for the future, Rabois says one of the challenges Square faces is that mobile payments is a rapidly evolving industry. "I don't think anyone would be able to predict what it looks like in ten years. We have to be really agile, creative and innovative at the same time," he says.
Square is going to continue to grow in terms of employees, he says; the startup has been averaging three to six hires per month. And when we asked if here any new funding rounds in the future (Square raised $10 million From Khosla Ventures and a number of other prominent angel investors last year), Rabois didn't really say yes or no. "We are getting an email per day from interesting investors and there are certainly lots of interesting things one could do with more capital."
Photo Credit/Dave Getzschman


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Nomination Watch
-In the south side of Calgary, a trio of candidates were nominated this week for the Alberta Liberals. Former journalist and, most importantly, calgarygrit reader, Laura Shutiak will be carrying the torch in Calgary Fish Creek. A good friend of mine, local lawyer John Roggeveen, will be going again in Calgary Shaw; John has a lot of good ideas about how to improve Alberta-Idaho relations so he should be a formidable foe for Cindy Ady. Lori Czerwinski will be going against Dave Rodney in Calgary Lougheed.
-In Edmonton, the PCs have nominated Naresh Bardwaj, Carl Benito, and a pair of federal Liberals, Andrew Beniuk and Raj Sherman. The ALP will put up former Catholic School Board Chair Debbie Cavaliere against Dr. Sherman in what should be a very competitive race.
-Back in Calgary, Lindsay Blackett will go for the Tories in Calgary North West. btw, Lindsay is a guy.
-Meanwhile, in Calgary Egmont, Craig Chandler ally and riding President David Crutcher has been impeached out of the presidency. In the words of Alberta Tory, one down, one to go...
Labels: Alberta Election, Nominations


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HP's Q3: Revenue declines plague units; Outlook lowered
HP saw revenue declines in four of its six units due to economic "headwinds" and ongoing restructuring efforts.
In other words, HP is "still in the early stages of a multi-year turnaround," said HP CEO Meg Whitman.
HP's third quarter results came in largely as expected. HP telegraphed that it would take hefty charges related to its enterprise services unit.
Meanwhile, HP cut its fiscal 2012 outlook. The company said its non-GAAP earnings would be $4.05 a share to $4.07 a share. Wall Street was expecting $4.07 a share for the year. HP also sees GAAP losses of $2.23 a share to $2.25 a share for the year.
The stat lines for HP largely show third quarter revenue declines across the board. To wit:
- PC revenue was down 10 percent from a year ago.
- Imaging and printing revenue fell 3 percent from a year ago.
- Services revenue fell 3 percent from a year ago.
- Enterprise servers, storage and networking sales fell 4 percent as business critical systems (Itanium) revenue dropped 16 percent.
- HP financial services revenue was flat.
- And software revenue was up 18 percent.
For the third quarter, HP reported a net loss of $8.9 billion, or $4.49 a share, on revenue of $29.7 billion, down 5 percent from a year ago. The loss is attributed to a goodwill charge related to the services unit and restructuring.
Excluding those charges---which totaled $10.8 billion---HP would have earned $1 a share. Those results were in line with the company's preannouncement.
HP reiterated that its plans were to restructure, manage costs closely and deliver on strategic changes all while improving the company's balance sheet.
By the numbers:
- HP generated $2.8 billion in cash flow in the third quarter.
- Inventory was $7.3 billion, up 1 day from a year ago to 29 days.
- Research and development spending was $854 million in the third quarter, up from $812 million a year ago.
- HP had cash and equivalents of $9.5 billion as of July 31.
- Notebook revenue fell 13 percent from a year ago.
- Printer supply revenue fell 3 percent from a year ago.


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A hot air balloon carrying 11 people turned into a tower of "sheer flame" Saturday after hitting power lines in a rural area of New Zealand, killing everyone aboard and horrifying residents.
"It's a tragedy as bad as tragedies get," local police commander Brent Register said.
It was New Zealand's deadliest air accident in nearly 50 years. Two of those killed jumped out of the basket in desperation before the fiery balloon hit the ground with a loud bang. It crashed into farmland near the township of Carterton, a region well known for its hot air ballooning.
The pilot and five couples were killed. Some of the bodies were badly burned, said Superintendent Mike Rusbatch, a police district commander in Wellington, the capital. The early morning weather was clear and bright with minimal wind.
Rusbatch said it appeared the balloon's basket struck power lines that ignited a fire on board. Witnesses told local media they saw 32-foot high flames rising from the basket.
The burning balloon was just above the trees when David McKinlay saw it as he watered his garden.
"It looked like he (the pilot) tried to raise it a bit higher … all of a sudden there was just 10 meters of flames," he said.
The balloon rose to 500 feet before dropping quickly and turned into "just a sheer flame as it hit the ground" with a big bang, McKinlay said.
Rusbatch, the police commander, said two people jumped from the basket before it hit the ground, but did not survive.
The only victim publicly identified so far is the pilot and balloon owner, Lance Hopping. He was safety officer for the Balloons over Wairarapa annual event, and was considered an experienced and safety-conscious pilot.
New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission opened an immediate inquiry. Investigating officer Peter Williams said investigators had looked at the crash site but had yet to begin witness interviews. The investigation could take up to a year, he said.
The crash was the deadliest air disaster in New Zealand since 1963, when a DC-3 airliner crashed in the Kaimai Range, killing all 23 passengers and crew aboard, according to the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
In 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 airliner on a scenic flight slammed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 257 people on board.
USA today


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Release Date: 1991 | Tracklist
Album Rating: 3.5Well. Took forever , but got the job done. Here ya go!
Album Rating: 4.0:DDD
Album Rating: 3.5I've owned this album forever, and it has been about that long since fully listening to it. Decided to say screw it and do the review.
Album Rating: 4.0i just read the summary in Schwarzeneggers voice a la 'get to da choppa'
Album Rating: 3.5Haha yeah, i imagine Arnold moshing when i re-listened to this and nearly had milk shotoing out of my nose. I had proof-read this again due to the amount of errors i found after posting it. Sputnik needs a preview option.
Holy hell this is long lol. I think jacquibim might be reviewing this too lol but props for reviewing it man. I'll read it and give feedback after I finish this movie
Album Rating: 3.5word , lemme know what you watching when you are done. Im bored and need a movie suggestion while i prepare another review.
second paragraph: "its slightly thrashy, its slightly groovy, and very intense" missing the apostrophes on these ;) not a bad review you covered a lot about the album which is great, have a pos. you still need to work on not mentioning yourself in the review though. For example sentences like " I have already pointed out the lyrics." aren't really necessary.
Album Rating: 3.5Word, yeah avoiding the first person thing is becoming slightly easier, it still is a pretty bad habit, appreciate it man.
no problem man i mean they're your reviews you can do whatever you want i just personally think reviews are more convincing if you keep the first person thing out of it. your reviews are getting better though man and i can tell you have fun with them : )
Album Rating: 3.5Yeah, i imagined arnold moshing... it worked hah
Album Rating: 3.5for dayz.
Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound OffFinally a goddamn review for this best day ever Disagree w/ ur score but ur the first to review this osdm azzkikr so props
Album Rating: 3.5No prob man, its all opinion really. Just tried to be a little objective
lol i was just waiting for ford to come in here and shit his pants.
Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound OffOh well, ratings aside I really still find it hard to believe that this didn't have a rev til today
Album Rating: 3.5yeah same here.
well maybe if so many reviewers didn't just focus on new releases it would have had a review by now. We get like 10 reviews for a shitty metalcore band but 0 for some classic dm or thrash albums lol
Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound OffAgreed
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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When Paul Angott watched his mother lose a 13-year battle with cancer, it spurred him to take action and led to him founding Angott Medical Products LLC.
Angott, an engineer by education, with an entrepreneurial streak, started an intense study of the disease about four years ago.
"I'm not a doctor. I don't know squat about medical (issues)," said Angott. "I just read, picked peoples' brains and talked to people."
What he learned from talking to women was they found getting a mammogram — the current gold standard in breast cancer detection — uncomfortable and that many feared the procedure's radiation.
What he learned through study was that a mammogram's sensitivity in detection wasn't very high, and it didn't work well with younger women. He found that the cancer had to have progressed enough for the procedure to catch it.
Another procedure caught Angott's attention: Thermography. And it's this procedure that is the basis of Angott Medical Products.
Thermography works by detecting the temperature change in a woman's breast.
"When the mass (cancer) forms in your body, the body actually forms blood vessels to feed the mass to grow and to give it nutrients, and the blood vessels give out heat," said Angott.
Thermography isn't new. In fact, Angott found a crude use of it in 480 B.C., the era of famed Greek medical pioneer Hippocrates. Women were covered in mud and laid in the sun to see if one breast dried more quickly than the other.
The practice of thermography in detecting breast cancer took a blow in the early 1980s in the United States because, while it was deemed much more sensitive in detecting abnormalities than mammograms and ultrasound, it also produced too many false positives.
However, said Angott, those false positives were proved "false" by use of mammograms. Years later, many of those women found they did indeed have breast cancer.
Angott has designed a protoype with the help of Wayne State University, redubbed the procedure Advanced Thermal Profiling, and is writing software coding to automate it. He expects the tester to initially cost $10,000 and to be available to physicians by the first quarter of 2013, and it will be offered as an adjunct to a clinical breast exam.
Angott has raised $1 million from a pension fund he declined to identify. He also received $250,000 from a medical device fund administered by the IRS. The balance is from investors.
"Our goal is to save 10,000 women in 10 years," said Angott.


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The New Bexar County Jail Video Visitation - LMD Architects in Association with DHR Architects
- Details
- Created: Friday, 26 August 2016 13:14
Visiting Bexar County Jail inmates just got easier for families. There are more than 200 portable and stationary video cameras that will be used for visitation. It cost a little more than $6 million dollars. Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said it will be much easier and faster to see your loved ones in jail.
Through a monitor and camera you can talk with and see your loved ones. "We're not going from a contact visit to a non-contact visit. This is hi def video. Some people were concerned about the quality," Sheriff Pamerleau said.
The new facility just a block away from the jail at the south annex detention center. "In jail as compared with someone in prison our average length of stay here is 42 days but even in those days it's important to keep that connection with families," Pamerleau said. Families have to register online or at the visitation center. There are 68 cameras in the center, all of which give you a 20 minute time cap to talk with an inmate. Sheriff Pamerleau said by law the sheriff's office has to offer two visits per week. More will be allowed if time slots are available.
"There are a lot of people who don't have the opportunity to come because of how difficult it is for them to spend an entire day waiting for a 20 minute visit," Pamerleau said. It's still not clear how long visitors will have to wait for a visit now, but the sheriff says it will be much quicker. An extra day has also been added for visitation. So you can stop by Saturday through Wednesday.
"It increases opportunities for visitation by 141% over what we're available to provide today," Pamerleau said
The new visitation center will open Sept. 3.
Kens 5 Eyewitness News Story Credit